DUCANI LEGACY SERIES 11: Kali

Kabanata 18

ELDRITCH just noticed that Kali was taking a different route the moment they took the exit leading to Pampanga. Napakunot tuloy siya ng noo dahil sa pagtataka.

"Uh, Kali? Saan tayo pupunta?"

"SM Clark." He smiled. "Let's buy ourselves some clothes."

"Clothes? You . . . wanna shop? All of a sudden?"

Napakamot ito ng ulo habang nahihiyang nakangiti. "We're . . . gonna buy some trolly bags, too and . . . sunglasses perhaps?"

"Sungla--hold on." Nalukot nang husto ang kanyang noo. "Saan ba tayo pupunta pagkagaling ng SM Clark?"

Kali sighed. "You need some time to relax. I do, too so why don't we spend the rest of the weekend at my family's rest house? We can surf, chill by the beach, just completely forget about everything that just happened today."

Naikwento niya rito kanina ang mga nangyari. Pati na iyong ginawa ng kapatid niyang si Elona kaya siguro nais siya nitong pasayahin. Mukhang kilala na talaga siya ni Kali. Alam nitong kung iuuwi siya nito sa apartment niya ay iisipin lamang niya nang iisipin ang mga nangyari.

"Saan ang rest house n'yo? Hindi ka ba pagagalitan?" may pag-aalala niyang tanong.

"We have several beach houses and farm houses but I was thinking of the one in Baler. Maganda ang alon ngayon panigurado. Regarding your other question, no of course. Malaki na ko, E." He patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. We can go everywhere we want."

Ngumiti na lamang siya kay Kali. Wala na rin naman siyang magagawa. Maybe he could really use a quick vacation anyway. Dahil pagdating ng Lunes ay siguradong bugbog na silang lahat sa trabaho dahil malapit na ang birthday ni Noa. They have to finish the venue as quick as possible.

They went to SM Clark to shop for some clothes. Dumaan na rin sila sa supermarket ng mall para bumili ng beers at ilang pagkaing pwede nilang iluto habang nasa Baler. Pasado alas tres na ng hapon kaya siguradong gabi na sila makararating sa beach house ng pamilya ni Kali. Wala namang problema sa kanya. Nag-aalala lamang siya na baka mapagod ito sa byahe.

"Gusto mo ako muna magmaneho hanggang Cabanatuan?" alok niya habang naglalakad sila pabalik sa parking lot.

"Sure. I'll be your passenger prince," biro nito.

Ngumisi siya. "Passenger prince pala tingin mo sa'kin."

"I don't mind you being my passenger prince. Kaysa sa kotse ni Barren ka magpakaprinsipe-"

Napatigil ito sa pagsasalita nang napagtanto ang sinasabi. Napansin din ni Eldritch na bahagyang namula ang pisngi nito.

"I-I mean . . ." Kali faked a scoff. "Nakakaselos kasi . . . kasi best friend kita, right?" pagpapaliwanag nito.

Nagpigil ng ngisi si Eldritch. Damn it, why does he find Kali cute when he's acting this way?

Tumango na lamang siya. "Okay," aniya habang pigil pa rin ang kanyang mga labi sa pagkurba.

Kali shyly massaged his nape. "You wanna grab coffee? You can stay in the car. I'll make a run."

"Kali, ikaw ang boss sa ating dalawa. Ako na ang bibili."

"Hindi na." Umiling-iling ito. "I insist. May nakalimutan din akong bilihin."

Binuksan nito ang kotse. Nang maipasok nila ang mga pinamili sa sasakyan ay iniwanan na siya nito. Wala tuloy siyang nagawa kun'di ang hintayin na lamang itong makabalik.

He went to the driver side and adjusted the seat and side mirrors. Ilang beses na rin niyang namaneho ang sasakyan ni Kali kaya naka-connect na ang phone niya sa media player.

Eldritch decided to play some songs. He clicked one of Spotify's recommended playlist. Dahil hindi naman siya mapili sa mga kantang pinakikinggan ay hindi siya nag-skip sa mga kantang nasa playlist.

One of Taylor's songs was playing when he saw Kali walking towards the car carrying two cups of Starbucks coffee. May buhat din itong paperbag na may logo ng isang mamahaling watch brand.

As if he was suddenly got sucked into a music video, everything felt like a slow motion. Kali in his white shirt and denim jeans, his front hair was slightly covering his forehead.

Napalunok si Eldritch. God, Kali Ducani-Herrera is such an effortless head-turner . . .

"I got you an iced toasted vanilla oat milk shaken espresso." Kali faked a sigh. "That's a pretty long name for a coffee drink."

Ngumisi si Eldritch. "Bakit naman kasi 'yan ang in-order mo? Pwede naman kahit ano na lang."

"I asked for the best one." Ikinabit nito ang sariling seatbelt. "Let's see how it tastes."

"Pareho ba tayo?" he asked while slowly driving the car out of the parking space.

"Mine is a pumpkin spice latte." Inilagay nito ang straw sa sariling inumin. Maya-maya ay sumimsim ito nang kaunti sa inumin nito bago nito inilapit ang inumin sa kanya. "Try it. It's good."

Dahil abala sa pagmamaneho ay basta na lamang sumipsip si Eldritch sa straw. He just realized what he did after he was able to sip on Kali's drink.

Napalunok na lamang siya. Either Kali doesn't mind sharing a straw with him or . . . he's flirting with him. It can't possibly be the latter, right? Kali is straight. Niloloko na naman siya ng isip niya.

Tumikhim si Eldritch. "Ngayon mo lang ba natikman 'yan?"

"Yeah. We have an espresso machine at home so we make our own coffee according to our liking."

"Hindi kayo mahilig bumili sa mga mamahaling coffee shop?"

"Sometimes we do but it's not part of our lifestyle. We only buy coffee at coffee shops when we don't have time to make one at home." Kali smiled. "Which rarely happens since I always make time for what I love."

Make time for what he loves?

Tahimik na humugot ng hininga si Eldritch. Nope. He's not going to be delusional just because Kali makes time for him.

Iniba na lamang niya ang kanilang usapan. Nang makapasok ng express way way nagpaalam si Kali na mamimili ng kanta sa playlist na pinakikinggan nila. Hinayaan naman niya ito ngunit habang namimili ito ng kanta sa kanyang phone ay bigla siyang nakatanggap ng tawag.

"Sino 'yan, Kali?" tanong niya.

Bumuntonghininga ito. "Boyfriend mo," Kali said with a hint of bitterness.

Napakunot siya ng noo saka niya sinilip ang screen. Sumandal naman ito sa upuan at maingay na sumipsip sa inumin. Ewan ba ni Eldritch pero parang hindi siya naiirita rito. In fact, he finds the wrinkle on Kali's forehead cute. Paano ay tila napipikon itong makita ang caller ID sa screen ng phone niya.

Eldritch realized that Kali doesn't want to share their time to someone else right now. Kaya imbes na sagutin ang tawag ni Barren ay pinatay niya na lamang iyon.

Kali looked at him. "Ba't di mo sinagot?"

Humugot ng hininga si Eldritch. "Let's . . . just enjoy our time together." Napalunok siya nang makaramdam ng kaunting kaba dahil sa kanyang sinabi. Bakit naman ganoon ang choice of words niya?

Akala niya ay nailang na si Kali sa kanya ngunit nang marinig niya ang sinabi nito ay para bang may mainit na palad na humaplos sa kanyang puso.

"Sa'ting dalawa muna 'tong araw na 'to, E . . ."

As if there's a silent agreement that happened between their hearts, Eldritch and Kali gave each other a glance before they both smiled.

Eldritch sighed with his lips still curving in a sweet way. Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't hurt that much to be a little delusional about Kali's actions . . .